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Truck Accident Statistics

14251

Interruption of the traffic flow

Unfamiliarity with roadway

Inadequate surveillance

Driving too fast for conditions

Illegal maneuver

Inattention

Fatigue

Illness

False assumption of other road user's actions

Distraction by object or person inside the vehicle.

An average of about 5,000 trucks are involved in a fatal traffic accident each year.

Tractors
pulling one semitrailer are the most common truck configuration,
accounting for about 60% of all trucks involved in a fatal accident.

Texas, California, and Florida had the greatest number of truck involvements over the period 1996 to 2000.

The
number of persons killed in accidents involving a truck decreased to
5,567 in 2000, compared with an average of 5,647 from 1997-1999.

The number of truck drivers killed in traffic accidents increased from 658 in 1998 to 713 in 2000.

About 360 pedestrians and 70 bicyclists are killed each year in traffic accidents involving trucks.

36.9% of
straight trucks were empty at the time of the accident; while solids in
bulk were the most frequent cargo type, accounting for 19.2%.

54.2%
of straight truck configurations involved in a fatal traffic accident
had two axles, 24.3% had three axles (including the trailer), and one
straight truck combination had seven axles on the power unit and four
axles on the trailer.

37.7% of
straight trucks were operated by a private, intrastate carrier; 23.7%
by a private, interstate carrier; and only 11.6% by a for-hire,
interstate carrier.

66.3% of straight trucks were on a local trip (within 50 miles of base) at the time of the accident.

262
straight truck drivers were fatally injured in a traffic accident;
39.3% of the fatalities occurred in ran-off-road crashes.

Truck
configurations in which the power unit was a tractor accounted for
3,472 of the 5,275 trucks (65.8%) involved in a fatal accident.

The
three lightest tractor configurations weighed 10,000 pounds or less,
and were bobtail tractors; the four heaviest tractor configurations
were doubles with a loaded weight over 150,000 pounds.

71.8% of tractor combinations weighed between 25,001 and 80,000 pounds.

27.2%
of tractor combinations were empty at the time of the accident; while
the most common cargo was general freight with 26.6% of tractor
involvements.

88.6% of
tractor-semitrailer configurations consisted of a three-axle tractor
pulling a two-axle trailer. 62.3% of doubles (two trailers) consisted
of a two-axle tractor with a one-axle first trailer and a two-axle
second trailer.

68.8% of tractor
combinations were operated by for-hire, interstate carriers; 15.1% of
tractors were operated by private, interstate carriers.

19.0%
of tractor combinations were on a local trip (within 50 miles of base)
at the time of the accident; 19.8% were on a trip over 500 miles.

449
tractor drivers were fatally injured in a traffic accident; 48.1% of
the fatalities occurred in ran-off-road crashes.

Preliminary National Crash Facts

This
section provides statistics that describe the physical configuration of
trucks involved in a fatal accident. Of the 5,275 trucks involved in a
fatal accident, there were 3,164 tractor-semitrailers, 1,519 straight
trucks with no trailer, 222 straight trucks pulling a trailer, 123
bobtail tractors, and 162 tractors pulling two trailers.

Straight Truck Statistics
This section provides descriptive statistics on straight trucks
involved in a fatal traffic accident. A straight truck is a truck
power unit with a permanently attached cargo body. Straight truck
configurations include trucks pulling no trailers, trucks pulling a
full or other trailer, and wreckers towing cars or other straight
trucks.

Note:
445 straight trucks had "other" cargo bodies, bodies that did not fall
into any named cargo body type. Most of these were utility bodies or
some other working body type such as concrete mixers, cement pumps, or
boom trucks. Tractor Trailer Statistics
This section provides descriptive statistics on tractor combinations
involved in a fatal traffic accident. A tractor is a truck power unit
with a fifth wheel designed to pull semitrailers. Tractor
configurations include tractors pulling no trailers (bobtail), tractors
pulling one or more semitrailers, and other configurations with
supplementary units such as jeeps that permit hauling very heavy loads
or configurations in which the tractor towed other tractors by means of
saddle mounts.

Extracted from:
TRUCKS INVOLVED IN FATAL ACCIDENTS FACTBOOK
Center for National Truck Statistics
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conducted the
Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) to examine the reasons for
serious crashes involving large trucks (trucks with a gross vehicle
weight rating over 10,000 pounds). From the 120,000 large truck
crashes, a nationally representative sample was selected. Each crash
in the LTCCS sample involved at least one large truck and resulted in a
fatality or injury.
The total LTCCS sample of 963 crashes involved 1,123 large trucks and
959 motor vehicles that were not large trucks. The 963 crashes
resulted in 249 fatalities and 1,654 injuries. Of the 1,123 large
trucks in the sample, 77 percent were tractors pulling a single
semi-trailer, and 5 percent were trucks carrying hazardous materials.
Of the 963 crashes in the sample, 73 percent involved a large truck
colliding with at least one other vehicle.

National Crash Estimates
According to NHTSA’s estimate, there were approximately 120,000 fatal
and injury crashes nationwide during the 33-month study period that
involved at least one large truck; 141,000 large trucks were involved
in those crashes. Each of the 963 LTCCS study cases was assigned a
sampling weight, which allows for national estimates of total fatal and
injury truck crashes during the study period.
All study results presented here are national estimates for the 141,000
large trucks that were estimated by NHTSA to have been involved in
fatal and injury crashes during the study period. The estimates may
differ from true values, because they are based on a probability sample
of crashes and not a census of all crashes. The size of the difference
may vary, depending on which LTCCS sample is the focus of a particular
table or analysis. Table 1
Estimated Numbers of Trucks in All Crashes, by Critical Reasons

Critical Reasons

Number of Trucks

Percent of Total

Driver

68,000

87%

Non-Performance

9,000

12%

Recognition

22,000

28%

Decision

30,000

38%

Performance

7,000

9%

Vehicle

8,000

10%

Environment

2,000

3%

Total Number of Large Trucks Coded with Critical Reason

78,000

100%

Total Number of Large Trucks Not Coded with Critical Reason

63,000

—

Total Number of Large Trucks Involved in Crashes

141,000

—

Notes:
Results shown are national estimates for the 141,000 large trucks
estimated to have been involved in fatal and injury crashes during the
study period. The estimates may differ from true values, because they
are based on a probability sample of crashes and not a census of all
crashes. Estimates are rounded to the nearest 1,000 large trucks.

Table 2 shows the 19 associated factors that were coded most frequently for large trucks in the LTCCS, where there was a statistically significant association between the factor and the assignment of the critical reason.
The order of the factors in the table is based on the number and
percentage of trucks assessed with each factor. The relative risk
number is a ratio of the critical reason coding for trucks coded with
the factor, compared with trucks not coded with the factor. Thus,
Table 2 shows that a truck with brake problems was 170 percent more
likely to be coded with the critical reason for a crash than a truck
that was not coded with the brake problems associated factor.

Notes:
Results shown are national estimates for the 141,000 large trucks
estimated to have been involved in fatal and injury crashes during the
study period. The estimates may differ from true values, because they
are based on a probability sample of crashes and not a census of all
crashes. Estimates are rounded to the nearest 1,000 large trucks.

Of the top 10 associated factors coded for large trucks, 3 do not
appear in Table 2. For those three associated factors—traffic flow
interruption, prescription drug use, and required to stop before
crash—there was no significant difference in the frequency at which
trucks with and without the factors were coded with the critical reason
for a crash.

It is important to note
both the number of times an associated factor is coded and its relative
risk ratio. For example, the brake problems associated factor is the
most frequently coded (29 percent), but it has a lower relative risk
ratio than those for 13 other factors. Pre-crash cargo shift, with the
highest relative risk ratio (56.3), was reported for only 4 percent of
the large trucks involved in LTCCS crashes.

Of the 19 factors listed in Table 2, 15 are driver factors. Those 15
driver factors can be divided into two major groups. One
group—fatigue, illness, and drug use (both legal and illegal)—reflects
the condition of the driver before the crash. The other
group—excessive speed, inadequate surveillance, illegal maneuver,
inattention, distraction (outside the truck and inside the truck), and
following too close—reflects driving mistakes.

Large Truck – Passenger Vehicle Crashes
One-half of the LTCCS crashes involved collisions between a large truck
and a passenger vehicle (car, pickup truck, van, or sport utility
vehicle). In those crashes, the same associated factors coded most
often for the large trucks usually were also coded most often for the
passenger vehicles. For both large trucks and passenger vehicles,
there was a statistically significant link between the following 10
associated factors (listed in descending order according to how often
they were coded for the large truck) and coding of the critical reason:

There
are some important differences in the coding of associated factors
between the two vehicle types. For large trucks, but not passenger
vehicles, following too closely (a traffic situation that required a
stop before the crash) and distraction outside the vehicle were
statistically related to assignment of the critical reason. In
addition, vehicle factors that were not coded or examined for the
passenger vehicles (brakes, tires, jackknife, and cargo shift) were
statistically linked to assignment of the critical reason for large
trucks.

If you or someone you know has been involved in a serious truck accident, contact one of our experienced truck accident lawyers at Gordon Elias & Seely, L.L.P. Call toll free at 800 - 773 - 6770!

Trucking injuries can be prevented if passenger vehicle drivers take special care when driving near tractor-trailers. If a trucking collision does occur, record as much information as possible, including names and contact information of witnesses.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) gathered crash statistics for large trucks and buses involved in fatal and non-fatal crashes that occurred in the United States. The information was gathered from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS).

The content of this website is provided for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice. If you need help with a Truck Accident claim, consult an experienced trucking accident attorney from the law offices of Gordon Elias & Seely, L.L.P. by calling TOLL FREE: 800 - 773 - 6770 OR by filling out the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page.